Fear keeps children off streets

"I AM looking out of the window and there are no kids playing. It is a sunny day and the school holidays but people are just waiting for something to happen. . ." Mary Murphy, a Hulme councillor and community activist, who lost her own son in an incident involving a gun, describes the scene outside her home.

"I AM looking out of the window and there are no kids playing. It is a sunny day and the school holidays but people are just waiting for something to happen. . ."

Mary Murphy, a Hulme councillor and community activist, who lost her own son in an incident involving a gun, describes the scene outside her home.

Coun Murphy, who has lobbied against firearms since the 1980s, said: "What is happening now is not the same as what was happening four years ago.

"All the gang members who have not been around for a while are re-emerging and trying to settle old scores.

"Previously it was younger people getting drawn into gang culture from an early age, but there is a real difference to what is happening just now."

The Hulme resident was speaking after several weeks of gun violence in the city, including three shootings over the weekend, one in her ward.

Distressed

She said: "The police have said it is tit-for-tat. What happened on Sunday will be repeated. I feel quite distressed because I know there will be a response to what happened."

She said the only solution was for witnesses to trust police. She praised recent efforts to protect witnesses, including the unprecedented anonymity granted to witnesses of the Jesse James inquest. Meanwhile, senior councillors have played down calls for a summit dedicated to tackling gun crime.

Activist and sportsman Geoff Thompson called for a high-level summit involving police, politicians and residents' groups.

But deputy council leader Jim Battle said there were already regular talks between the authorities and community leaders.